Dejah Thoris - Custom/Kitbash (NSFW -- mild -- and slightly edited, but fair warning)

In Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Barsoom (Mars) novel, A Princess of Mars, Confederate Soldier John Carter is mysteriously transported to the red planet of Mars in an unconscious state. When he awakens in a cave, he is completely naked (no clothes, weapons... nothing). Over the course of a few brief adventures -- where he discovers Green, four-armed Martians (equally naked, but with baubles and jewlery for adornment), he acquires a couple items himself -- though it's never discussed whether he covers himself in some sort of codpiece, or pants. Artists over the decades, since the book was first published in 1912, have done some magnificent covers to these books (and, of course, his most famous series, Tarzan), but none of them were of the racy nature described in Burroughs book. NONE of the characters wear clothing; maybe because it's too hot on Mars, I don't know. About the closest we've come to getting an artistic interpretation of the characters, but still allows for publishing demands of decency, has been in the last 20 years or so, with artists such as Joe Jusko, Ken Kelly, and J. Scott Campbell.

Here are the some brief descriptions of the Princess of Mars herself, as told through the eyes of John Carter, the narrator, the first time he sees her:

"Her face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair...
... Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
   She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure."

I, unfortunately, was only able to use the techniques at my disposal, the materials I could scrounge, and the body that I thought would work. The color isn't correct, but it's closer than the "suntan" that most artists portray her as, and with TBLeague doing the bulk of the work, I thought it was a pretty easy decision to make. All of the jewelry bits were from eBay sellers, the head and body from Monkey Depot from the parted out Purgatori figure, and the hands and feet were simply color-matched and painted by me. Aside from the long wait for all the little bits to arrive from Asia, it was probably one of the easiest figures to put together -- for obvious reason.

I don't know if I could ever do justice to Mr. Burroughs' words, but here is my attempt. (I painted an entire set of hands and feet, in the event I wanted to change her pose at some point).

As always, comments and criticism welcome.

"Destitute of clothes" is such an amazing phrase. Absolutely love her! Respect of repainting the hands. Does the paint hold up to some flex when they hold something? I've actually been trying to find something like those tiny little metal circles on her necklace and belt for a Belit to go with my Conan, and love the style of all her jewelry. Seriously looks fantastic!

I really, really like her...she's absolutely gorgeous, and I love how you have her posed in these pics. The fact that she is only wearing that gold jewelry is somehow not salacious in a gaudy way at all, but seems quite natural, given how 'comfortable' she looks in it.

Hella envious that you have that Purgatori body, but glad to see you made such a rare and unique character with it!

Beautifully done -- and in my book a much better use of all that Purgatori stuff (but that's just about personal taste). I love the jewelry, but in your place I would have added a bit more -- maybe a series of pendants hanging from the belt and the necklace, that would add even more status and ostentation (he is a princess after all) and could be positioned strategically for photographs.

Thanks, All, appreciate the kind words.

ReverendSpooky wrote:"Destitute of clothes" is such an amazing phrase.  Absolutely love her!  Respect of repainting the hands.  Does the paint hold up to some flex when they hold something?  I've actually been trying to find something like those tiny little metal circles on her necklace and belt for a Belit to go with my Conan, and love the style of all her jewelry.  Seriously looks fantastic!

Burroughs is one of my favorite writers. The man could certainly spin a yarn.

The hands are a little stiffer than usual, but still flexible, so yes, they can still hold things.

skywalkersaga wrote:Hella envious that you have that Purgatori body, but glad to see you made such a rare and unique character with it!

I saw another one parted out on MD not that long ago and was going to PM you, cause I remember you saying something about wanting one (see, some men actually do listen ), but when I went back to check the price, it was already gone. If it ever comes up again, I’ll see if I can’t grab it for you before it disappears— they go so fast sometimes.

GubernatorFan wrote:Beautifully done -- and in my book a much better use of all that Purgatori stuff (but that's just about personal taste). I love the jewelry, but in your place I would have added a bit more -- maybe a series of pendants hanging from the belt and the necklace, that would add even more status and ostentation (he is a princess after all) and could be positioned strategically for photographs.

I was thinking about more ornaments, but I just couldn’t find stuff that I thought would work together.

Stryker2011 wrote:

The hands are a little stiffer than usual, but still flexible, so yes, they can still hold things.

Acrylic paint can indeed be surprisingly quite flexible, and is used on softer plastics like vinyl without too much issue. Though I can understand the concern of it scraping off on the inside of the hands a bit when gripping something like a knife or sword hilt, etc....but even on 'official' figures like Hot Toys, the hands still tend to experience some wear when you use them with weapons and the like, so I tend to feel like a little paint wear is just an expected outcome of any painted hands, if that makes sense.

Stryker2011 wrote:
I saw another one parted out on MD not that long ago and was going to PM you, cause I remember you saying something about wanting one (see, some men actually do listen  ), but when I went back to check the price, it was already gone. If it ever comes up again, I’ll see if I can’t grab it for you before it disappears— they go so fast sometimes.

That's so incredibly thoughtful of you! It's so true... I had one in my cart on ebay a while back, but it went before I could actually purchase it. I can understand, as it's a pretty cool figure/body with potential for a lot of interesting characters, as you've illustrated above!

Definitely let me know if you ever encounter any, as I am so slow to afford things like that and tend to miss out on a lot.

GubernatorFan wrote:
I was thinking about more ornaments, but I just couldn’t find stuff that I thought would work together.

If you can't figure out any other jewelry with which to adorn her, perhaps you could find something for her to hold... maybe not quite a sceptre, but something ornamental that would likewise go well with her status.

‘Destitute of clothing’ is a fantastic turn of phrase! XD

I’m not normally a fan of the overly scantily clad female figures as they often tend to look more tacky than alluring but I do like this one! Her jewellery isn’t too gaudy or overdone, though I do think she’s missing something somehow, but I can’t put my finger on what! Perhaps some kind of draped ornamentation that connects the neckpiece to the belt, or draws the eyes down? The belt seems a little unbalanced compared to the neck and shoulders.

I love her eyes too!

Thanks, Christine. And I get what you’re saying about the belt... I just can’t think of what else I could add.. I’ll have to ponder it some more.

That's a great character to create in that unusual red body! Perfect IMO, and shows off the beauty of phicen/tbl to it's fullest!

Peaches wrote:That's a great character to create in that unusual red body!  Perfect IMO, and shows off the beauty of phicen/tbl to it's fullest!

Why thank you. The moment I saw that Purgatori figure, I knew I had to try to get another one, or the head and body loose, to make this character.

Edgar Rice Burroughs is one of my favorite writers, and I’m slowly working my way to making Tarzan and Jane (Jane is done, but I still have to shave down a sculpted head sculpt and add real hair for Tarzan).

Once you say it, making a Tarzan and Jane seems like the most obvious thing in the world to do, but I can't say I've ever seen anyone do it. Very creative, and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Wonderful Pictures and figure ! Intersting facts of this Book Character. I´ve seen the movie and i like it. So much great fanatsy creatures in the John Carter Universe

Thanks, Ephi!

Not to take anything away from your enjoyment of the film: I thought the movie had some great Creature effects, but overall — I hated that movie. You should read the books, theyre a lot of fun. The movie changed WAY too many things, and tried to jam bits and pieces from (if I remember correctly) 3 of the books — without following any of them at all. Not to mention, if they had followed the “destitute of clothing”, it would have been made by Axel Braun, and not Disney. It was a sad day to see how poorly Disney handled that whole thing — which is why it bombed, and never had any sequels.

That red is an amazing color. It really makes the figure pop.
I wonder if Martian women would find someone like me "exotic" or "weak and pasty" by their standards. I'm not Lily white, but I could probably use a little more color ......c'mon Spring!

Pontiacivan wrote:That red is an amazing color. It really makes the figure pop.
I wonder if Martian women would find someone like me "exotic" or "weak and pasty" by their standards. I'm not Lily white, but I could probably use a little more color ......c'mon Spring!

I hear you. 2 1/2' feet of snow on the ground, and -14 Fahrenheit today -- I've had enough of Winter.

Good looking figure! Nice job on the paint too.

CHEERS!

Thanks, Roger. The color match wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Required adding a touch of black, orange, and white to get it close. Only problem, despite using a matte finish, there's still a little too much shine on the hands and feet. Actually rubbed them down with baby powder to reduce it, and that works okay, not great, for the most part.

How much of a risk would it be to hit the lot with Dullcote!?

CHEERS!

I can try it and see...

Problem being you won't get it off easily if it goes wrong. If you have a spare Phicen anywhere, best test it on that first.

CHEERS!

It’s no big deal. I have dozens of left over hands and feet if it doesn’t work; can always paint more.

I see! Have no idea who the character was...but now i am intrigued!

maybe i try to cut the bra in a way that can be worn again on some other figure...

I haven’t read the comics, to tell you the truth, brassco. I like the cover art, but some of them have me concerned. And the Disney movie altered WAY too much. The problem comes with everyone trying to put “modern” sensibilities and spin on something that was written over 100 years ago. Deja Thoris is not some sword-wielding warrior, she’s a woman. Much like Jane in the Tarzan books, she may be resourceful, and she may fight back, but at the end of the day, they both still need to be “rescued” by their respective men. If you really are interested in knowing the character, go to the original source and read the books; look at the comics for the pretty art.

I understand what you mean, Stryker. These days it seems impossible for people to understand something as simple as ‘historical context’ —rather, current culture tends to demand that everything be palatable to their tastes, preferences, and ideologies. Which is just ridiculous, but it’s sadly quite pervasive these days. I feel uncomfortable with those who want to rewrite the past in their own image, rather than try to legitimately understand it within — and by the standards of — its own context. There is an arrogance and dismissive attitude there that astounds me. As if our current era is the pinnacle of philosophical thought and belief, and there is nothing about the past that is worthy or interesting just because it does not tick whatever social justice warrior cause(s) of the day happens to popular.

Some of my favourite female characters are those who are physically ‘weak’, but mentally and emotionally strong. I’ve got nothing against female warrior characters, as there are plenty of those whom I love as well (as well as many who are neither one thing nor another, or who combine multiple qualities), but when it makes more sense for a character to *not* be an outright warrior in their particular historical or cultural context (in the case of fictional settings), then it should indeed be explored, rather than glossed over or altered to fit some other kind of expectation.

skywalkersaga wrote:I understand what you mean, Stryker. These days it seems impossible for people to understand something as simple as ‘historical context’ —rather, current culture tends to demand that everything be palatable to their tastes, preferences, and ideologies. Which is just ridiculous, but it’s sadly quite pervasive these days. I feel uncomfortable with those who want to rewrite the past in their own image, rather than try to legitimately understand it within — and by the standards of — its own context. There is an arrogance and dismissive attitude there that astounds me. As if our current era is the pinnacle of philosophical thought and belief, and there is nothing about the past that is worthy or interesting just because it does not tick whatever social justice warrior cause(s) of the day happens to popular.

Some of my favourite female characters are those who are physically ‘weak’, but mentally and emotionally strong. I’ve got nothing against female warrior characters, as there are plenty of those whom I love as well (as well as many who are neither one thing nor another, or who combine multiple qualities), but when it makes more sense for a character to *not* be an outright warrior in their particular historical or cultural context (in the case of fictional settings), then it should indeed be explored, rather than glossed over or altered to fit some other kind of expectation.

I know no other way to respond to this without going off on a tirade of how stupid most people are today, other than to say — Thank you!